How to Make Apple Pastries the Hard Way
by Crossover Dreamer
Summary: Inkheart/Ratatouille/multiple Books crossover. This story is a parody of How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, as seen on Reading Rainbow. The first half focuses on Mo, Alfredo, Colette, and Remy. The second half focuses on Meggie and her quest.
1. The Mail Mix Up

A/N: This chapter contains characters from the book _Inkheart _by Cornelia Funke.

Mortimer Folchart is an avid book-reader who is reluctant to read books out loud because when he does, he either brings characters and items out of the book or puts people and items in the book. Meggie, Mortimer's daughter, has recently discovered she has the same gift. I haven't read _Inkdeath_ yet, so this story is most likely alternate universe.

This story is a parody of the book _How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World _by Marjorie Priceman. This book, which is a _Reading Rainbow _book, is about a cook who wants to buy ingredients to make apple pie. But because the market is closed, she decides to travel to other countries such as Italy, Jamaica, and Sri Lanka to collect the ingredients she desperately needs. That particular _Reading Rainbow _book, I thought, was one of the most memorable, and that's why decided to write this story.

Chapter 1: The Mail Mix-Up

It has been eleven years since Mortimer Folchart and his daughter Meggie have been at their house in Bremen. They still own it, but they only plan on living there during the summer, and the rest of the year in Naples, Italy with Elinor Loredan. Elinor is Resa Folchart's aunt, and Resa is Mo's wife and Meggie's mother. Resa is still in Naples living with Elinor because she wanted to spend some one-on-one time with Elinor and to have a chance to speak to her with her voice which she lost and found within the book _Inkheart_. Meggie was so intrigued with how Resa described the Inkworld, she forgot about how beautiful her world was. Lately Meggie, who is now fourteen, has been reading about German organizations that do world research. She read about one, the Bremen Women's World Research Club, where they write essays about other countries, have guest speakers, and have monthly tea parties. This gave Meggie an idea. She would surprise Resa with a tea party and prepare food that represents all the places that Meggie and Mo had been for Mo's nine-year quest of rescuing Resa. But Meggie had a problem...

"Mo!" Meggie shouted from inside the study. "Have you seen our travelogs?"

Mo walked into the study. "Oh, no!" he exclaimed. "I'd hate to say this, Meggie, but I think that we left them at Elinor's place"

Meggie stopped looking and groaned. "Then I'm in trouble. I wanted to recreate recipes from our travels for a tea party for Resa, I need to decide which food would go best with tea."

"In case you can't find them, you could try some of our old travel and food magazines."

"It's worth a try."

"Oh, and Meggie, will you please mail this letter to Resa?"

"All right, Mo. It's nice that Resa and Elinor get to spend quality time with each other after Resa has been in _Inkheart _for so long."

After Meggie's quick trip to the mailbox, Meggie sorted through the mail, but she observed that one of the letters was mailed to the wrong address.

"Mo, do you know a Tim Steinblock?"

"No, Meggie, that name doesn't even sound familiar. Did we get something from a Mr. Tim Steinblock?"

"No," Meggie replied, holding the letter far from her side "we _got_ something _for_ a Mr. Tim Steinblock."

"Oh."

"What should we do with it?"

"First of all, let me see it." Meggie handed the letter to Mo. He looked at addresses on the envelope. "He doesn't live too far from here. We can just give it to Mr. Steinblock ourselves."

[End of chapter 1.]

A/N: A/N: All of my chapters will be this short, but there will be a lot of them. I often write short chapters because I'm used to writing comic strips, and each day or week of a multiple-part comic strip story has to be as short as a one-shot.

I decided to have the Folcharts live in Bremen, Germany because the author of _Inkheart_ (Cornelia Funke) is from Germany. I specifically chose Bremen because it is one of the cities of the Fairy-Tale Road. Remember the story of the Bremen Town Musicians?


	2. If You Can't Stand the Heat

A/N: The Folcharts belong to Cornelia Funke. The Steinblocks belong to me.

Chapter 2: If You Can't Stand the Heat

Tim Steinblock was busy scolding his 12-year-old daughter Hilda and his 9-year-old son Wilbart for mischief they caused on an errand.

"You two caused nothing but trouble at the market today," Tim said furiously. "First, you complain that you're tired. So you decide to lean on the bread display, and you knock it over. Then you make the boxes of rice to fall down like dominoes. Then you decide to drum on the oatmeal boxes, and you knock those down, too. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Hilda was trying to think of the correct answer. "Uh... I was nervous?"

"Yeah!" agreed Wilbart. "Mom has a way of making us nervous."

"Don't blame your mother!" Tim said sternly. "You need to learn to control yourselves. As a consequence, you're not allowed to go shopping for a long time."

"How long is 'long'?" asked Hilda.

"Until your mother and I think you're mature enough to be in a store. "

Hilda and Wilbart grumbled. At that moment, Sylvia, Tim's wife, entered the dining room.

"Tim," she said. "we have company."

The father and children walked over to the foyer. Standing at the front door were Mo and Meggie.

"Hello, Mr. Steinblock," Mo said cheerfully. "My name is Mortimer Folchart, and this is my daughter Meggie. We came here to give you this letter which was accidently mailed to our house."

Mo handed the letter to Tim. Tim opened the letter and read it to himself.

"Oh, wow!" Tim exclaimed "Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me."

"I wonder what Dad got that makes him so happy," whispered Wilbart to his sister.

"Well I happen to know where that letter is from," Meggie replied. " Paris, France."

[End of chapter 2.]

A/N: The next chapter is where it starts to become a crossover. Feel free to review.


	3. Bittersweet Greetings

A/N: This chapter contains references to characters from the movie _Ratatouille_, which belongs to Disney/PIXAR. The events that occur take place sometime after _Ratatouille_ ends.

Chapter 3: Bittersweet Greetings

Tim was so grateful for receiving the letter, that he shared what he read with his family and Mo and Meggie. "This letter is from a chef who was at one time a customer at my restaurant because he and his wife were on their honeymoon. His name is Alfredo Linguini, and he and his wife Colette own a restaurant in Paris, France called 'Le Ratatouille.'"

"Is Chef Linguini offering you a job?" Hilda asked enthusiastically. "Because that would be so romantic working at a restaurant in Paris."

"Uh...not exactly," said Tim. "He writes that Le Ratatouille's kitchen was on fire and that the fire has caused severe damage."

"Are all the cooks okay?" asked Wilbart.

"He says there were no injuries, thankfully. But his sous-chef is so depressed that he lost interest in cooking."

"I feel sorry for the sous-chef," said Hilda. "What's his name?"

"He doesn't say."

"Does Chef Linguini want you to cheer the sous-chef up?" asked Wilbart.

"Linguini's request is most unusual. He wants me to take his father Auguste Gusteau's apple pastry recipe, which he provided in the letter, and put my own twist to it."

"Interesting," said Meggie.

Mo thought it was interesting also. "Say, Tim, is it all right if I read this letter myself?"

"I guess it's all right. There's nothing personal in it."

Tim handed Mo the letter, and then Mo walked over to the living room.

Meggie was astounded. "I know that Mo is an avid book-reader, but I didn't know that his passion went as far as reading other people's mail."

"At least our dad gave your dad permission," said Hilda.

Wilbart was still contemplating his father's sudden mood change. "So, what are we doing wrong?"

[End of chapter 3.]


	4. Where Did Mo Go?

Chapter 4: Where Did Mo Go?

While conversing with chef Tim Steinblock, Meggie remembered she still needed to make something for the tea party. "Mr. Steinblock, I'm giving my mother Resa a surprise party that will have a lot of food, and I was wondering if it would be all right if I used Gusteau's apple pastry recipe to make treats to go with the tea. I promise I'll follow the recipe to the letter so only you have to worry about putting your own twist to it."

"That would be fine," Tim said. "The recipe is just from Gusteau's cookbook, for public use."

"It seems rather odd to me that Alfredo Linguini, the chef of a Parisian bistro, would ask you to improve one of the recipes of his deceased father's, who was also one of the best chefs of the century," observed Sylvia.

"Apparently, Linguini has been altering Gusteau's recipes because the customers agree that they're an improvement."

"Interesting," said Sylvia. So is Linguini challenging you to alter the recipe for the sous-chef's sake? I ask because it's the sous-chef who is who is too depressed to cook, not Linguini."

"It's probably because the sous-chef is the best chef of Ratatouille; even better than Linguini." Tim looked at Meggie. "Meggie, will you please retrieve the letter from Mortimer? It has the recipe on it and I'd like to go over it."

"All right, Mr. Steinblock. And thank you for letting use the apple pastry recipe."

"You're welcome."

When Meggie left the dining room and entered the living room, she noticed that Mo wasn't there. Meggie glanced at every door and window, with Mo nowhere to be found.

"Mo? Mo? Where are you, Mo?" Meggie saw the letter on the floor and picked it up. "That's not like Mo leaving a letter on the floor." She gasped. "It's not possible! Of course, I know that he has a 'silver tongue,' but nothing like this has ever happened before. What am I going to do?"

[End of chapter 4.]


	5. Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

A/N: You may think that an Inkheart/Ratatouille crossover is unusual, especially since _Ratatouille_ is a computer-animated movie and _Inkheart_ is a book, later made into a live-action movie. Try imagining the characters of _Ratatouille_ as live action with the rats being a more realistic computer animation, the _Inkheart_ and original characters like PIXAR, or all of them in your favorite illustration or animation style.

Chapter 5: Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

Meanwhile, in Paris, France, at Alfredo and Colette Linguini's apartment, Colette is sitting in a great room chair reading _Lassie Come-Home_, and Alfredo is talking to his rat Remy (aka Little Chef). Remy is in his cage moping.

"Come on, Little Chef," Alfredo said. "What's the matter? Are you still upset about the fire? Don't worry, Little Chef. The repairs are almost done, we're getting a brand new range, and best of all you'll soon be able to share your delicacies with Parisians, tourists, and your family."

Remy looked up, and then down.

"Would you like a snack?" Alfredo asked. Knowing that Remy hasn't eaten much since Le Ratatouille's fire, Alfredo walked over to the kitchen, grabbed some food from the fridge, and set it beside Remy's cage. "It's strawberries and cheese. Your favorite."

Remy looked at the cheese, and then nibbled on it. "Colette! He's eating the cheese!"

Colette got up from her chair and stood beside Alfredo to look at Remy. "That's wonderful, Alfredo. He's finally over his garbage-eating phase."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a loud crash. The Linguinis turned their ears toward the dining room hutch. Colette was certain that the crash was the sound of knickknacks breaking.

"MY—"Alfredo covered Colette's mouth with his hand.

"Shhhh!" whispered Alfredo.

Carefully, Alfredo took a pan from the pot rack, and Colette did the same. Alfredo and Colette snuck behind the great room sofa. They peeked at what caused the crash, and discovered a man lying on the floor, face down, in front of the hutch, surrounded by broken knickknacks. That man was Mortimer Folchart. The Linguinis, concerned about his condition, walk toward Mo, but are still careful.

"He's still breathing!" exclaimed Alfredo. "Go get some rope!"

Colette ran into the bedroom. When she returned, she came back out with a roll of duct tape.

"Will duct tape do?" she asked.

"That'll work just fine," Alfredo replied.

Alfredo lifted Mo off the floor and set him down in one of the great room chairs. Then Alfredo and Colette duct-taped Mo to the chair.

Alfredo was curious. "What I don't get is how he got in here? All the doors and windows are locked."

"Great. A locked room mystery," Colette said.

Suddenly, Mo woke up.

"_Wo bin ich?_" Mo asked in German.

Alfredo recognized the language, for he and Colette have learned a little German for their honeymoon. "_Ich spreche ein wenig Deutsch._" Then Alfredo wanted to know whether this stranger could speak French, so he asked, "_Parlez-vous français?_"

Mo only knew a little French, so he said, "_Je ne parle pas bien français._" English was Mo's second language, so he asked, "Do you speak English?"

"Yes!" Alfredo said with enthusiasm. "I speak English fluently."

Then Mo remembered the letter he read. "Monsieur and Madame Linguini, I presume?"

"Yes," said Alfredo, "that's who we are, but who are you?"

"My name is Mortimer Folchart."

"How did you get here?" Colette asked.

"Uh..." Mo didn't know what to say, so he decided to stall. "I flew all the way from Bremen, Germany...and are my arms tired or what?"

The room became silent, but everybody in the apartment imagined the sound of crickets chirping.

Finally, Colette decided to speak. "That joke is as old as the aeroplane."

Alfredo thought he had a slight idea of what was going on. "Are you really from Bremen?"

"Yes," Mo said.

"It just so happens that I recently mailed something to a friend in Bremen. Do you know a..."

"Tim Steinblock?"

"This is spooky," Alfredo said.

"I agree," Colette said.

Mo was wishing he was unbound and thought to himself, _Now I know why Capricorn liked duct tape so much._ "Will you please remove this duct tape?" he asked.

"I'll have to think long and hard about that one," Alfredo told him.

[End of chapter 5.]

A/N: So far this is my longest chapter. I entitled this chapter "Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction" because it was thought that silver-tongue powers could only work with fiction, but Alfredo's letter to Tim proved it wrong. Which is ironic because _Inkheart_ and _Ratatouille_ are both fictional stories, so try to figure that one out. _Lassie Come-Home_, the book that Colette was reading, was written by Eric Knight. When Alfredo said, "This is spooky," that was a reference to the 2008 Disney movie _Bedtime Stories_—that was one of Adam Sandler's character's lines, and _Bedtime Stories _is very much like _Inkheart_. Mo's reference to duct tape is inspired by one of Capricorn's lines in the _Inkheart_ movie.


	6. Tinker Bell

A/N: If you are an _Inkheart_ fan who wants to see more characters brought out of books, I hope you like this chapter. This character already made a cameo appearance in Funke's _Inkheart_.

Chapter 6: Tinker Bell

Meanwhile, back in Bremen, Germany, at the Steinblocks' house, Meggie is attempting to devise a plan to rescue Mo. She figured that he had read the letter aloud, and that caused him to appear in Paris. But is it the real Paris or a carbon copy of Paris? Is he at the Linguinis' residence, the partly-ruined restaurant Le Ratatouille, or a location not specified in the letter? After Meggie handed Tim the letter, Hilda decided to make conversation with Meggie.

"So, Meggie, do you like reading as much as your father does?" Hilda asked.

Meggie wasn't in the mood to answer, but she wanted to be polite. "Yes, I do."

"Which books do you like reading the most?"

"Oh, there are so many books that I like, it's hard to pick favorites. I'm really into the fantasy genre. I also like poetry."

"Would you like to look through our books? You can borrow whichever of my books you like."

"Mine too," Wilbart said. "Except many of them are for early readers."

"That's very kind of you, Meggie said. "Thank you very much."

So Hilda guided Meggie to her bedroom and pointed to the bookcase.

"Help yourself," Hilda said.

"Thanks, Hilda," Meggie said, and then Hilda left the bedroom. _But I think I'll help Mo first._

Meggie wavered. She wavered for a few minutes. But after much deliberation, she finally decided to read. Out loud. Meggie saw a copy of _Peter Pan_ on Hilda's bookcase. She took it out, and opened it to chapter 3, "Come Away, Come Away!"

"I hope she's not taken," she said. "Who knows how many Silvertongues there are in the world." Then Meggie started reading aloud. "_There was another light in the room now, a thousand times brighter than the night-lights, and in the time we have taken to say this, it has been in all the drawers of the nursery, looking for Peter's shadow, rummaged the wardrobe and turned every pocket inside out. It was not really a light; it made this light by flashing about so quickly, but when it came to rest for a second you saw it was a fairy, no longer than your hand, but still growing. It was a girl called Tinker Bell exquisitely gowned in a skeleton leaf, cut low and square, through which her figure could be seen to the best advantage. She was slightly inclined to embonpoint._"

When Meggie finished reading the paragraph, there was a tiny, bright light, bouncing around the room, making a tinkling sound.

"Tinker Bell! Do you remember me? It's Meggie. I need your help."

To Meggie's disappointment, Hilda and Wilbart enter the bedroom. Tinker Bell froze and the Steinblock Children spotted her.

"I didn't know you had a fairy, Hilda." Wilbart said. "I didn't even know they existed."

"That's because I don't, Wilbart. And if it's any help at all, I didn't know they existed either. Meggie, that isn't who I think it is, is it?"

"Yes, that's Tinker Bell," Meggie said calmly, and then got excited saying, "I confess. I read her out of _Peter Pan_. But it's only because Mo is in trouble. I think that he read that letter out loud and that it transported him to Paris."

Hilda was confused. "Wait...what?"

"I'll explain later," Meggie said. "I want you to promise not to tell anyone else about this. This is between the three of us. Understand?"

"Not exactly," Wilbart said." But I won't tell anyone."

"Me neither," Hilda said. "But how will we explain his absence to our parents?"

"I'll tell them that Le Ratatouille's fire reminded him that he forgot to turn off our space heater. But in order to rescue Mo, I need to go home and make some preparations. Good-bye." Then Meggie grabbed Tinker Bell, placed her in her leather bag, and walked past Hilda and Wibart.

[End of chapter 6.]

A/N: The paragraph Meggie read was an actual passage from _Peter Pan_ by J.M. Barrie. Which other book characters will this story include? Stay tuned to find out.


	7. Trade Secrets

Chapter 7: Trade Secrets

Meanwhile, back in Paris, Alfredo and Colette are wondering whether it's Mo who's crazy, or the two of them. They continued to interrogate Mo while Mo was still duct-taped to the chair.

"Seriously, Herr Folchart," Colette said, "how did you get into our apartment when it was locked, and how do you know of Herr Steinblock?"

And then Alfredo added, "Be honest, now."

_If I tell them the truth,_ Mo thought,_ they probably won't think that I'm a thief._ "All right. But you'll find this very difficult to believe."

"Try us," Colette said.

Mo began explaining. "You see, it all started when my daughter Meggie brought in our mail. She noticed that one of the letters was mistakenly mailed to our house, and that was your letter to Tim Steinblock. So Meggie and I walked over to the Steinblocks' house, and Tim shared with us and his family highlights about the fire and your depressed sous-chef." Mo paused.

"Go on," Alfredo insisted.

"This is the part you won't believe. I...am a Silvertongue."

"What's a Silvertongue?" Alfredo asked.

"A Silvertongue is a person who has the ability to literally read characters and objects out of books as well as read people and objects into books." Alfredo and Colette looked at each other. "The trouble is," Mo continued, "that it's not easy to control what goes in and what comes out. Since it was a letter about actual events, and not a work of fiction, I thought that there would be no harm in reading it out loud. But I was wrong. So here I am!"

Alfredo and Colette stared at Mo in awe.

"Colette, may I have a word with you in the kitchen?" Alfredo asked.

"Okay..." Colette answered.

So Alfredo and Colette walked over to the kitchen, and in the kitchen they whispered so Mo can't here them. They did this for a few minutes. Then they returned to the great room and removed the duct tape from Mo.

"We believe you," Alfredo said.

Mo was extremely surprised. "Really?"

"Yes," Alfredo said. You see, Colette and I have witnessed many things just as strange, if not stranger."

"Now I have some questions for you, Alfredo," Mo said. "Why did you ask Tim, a Bremener chef, to alter Gusteau's apple pastry recipe? Does this have anything to do with your sous-chef ? Couldn't you have altered it yourself?"

"First of all, I am not the chef of Le Ratatouille, Colette is. I'm the waiter, but Colette and I are co-owners."

"How could he have possibly made that mistake?"

"It's no surprise." Alfredo said. "Lots of people have made the same mistake, and I let them. Nearly a year ago, when I worked at Gusteau's restaurant, I let them think that I was a garbage boy who recently discovered that he had a hidden talent of culinary instinct, but in reality I was a garbage boy who couldn't cook, period. It was really the sous-chef of Le Ratatouille who deserved all the credit."

Mo was dying of curiosity. "Just who is this sous-chef, anyway? If you don't mind my asking."

"Well..."

Alfredo looked at Colette and Colette nodded. Alfredo walked over to the rat cage and pointed at Remy.

"Your rat?" Mo asked.

"He's my Little Chef. He has super-senses of smell and taste that are similar to human senses."

Mo pondered this for a moment. "You know I just had the craziest thought."

"It couldn't be any crazier than what we've learned about each other." Colette said.

"Good point. What I was thinking was, could your Little Chef have come from a book?"

Alfredo was unsure what to think. He wouldn't have thought of that if he hadn't met Mortimer or anyone like him. "You mean, a Silvertongue could have brought him into this world? He'd have to have brought his family here, too."

Mo was having second thoughts. "He has a family?"

[End of chapter 7.]


	8. Silvertongue, Little Tongues, Rat Tongue

Chapter 8: A Silvertongue, Two Little Tongues and Rat-Tongue

Alfredo, Colette, and Mortimer were curious about the origin of Remy. Could he really have come from a book? If so, which one? There are many possibilities, and being a book-lover and a bookbinder, Mo knew this. Alfredo told Mo that Little Chef—that was the name he gave Remy—could understand humans, but whenever he tried to tell humans something, all he could do was nod, shake, or point. Mo wanted to see if he can learn about Remy's life by asking him a lot of yes-and-no questions.

"Hi, Little Chef. My name is Mo. Alfredo has told me so much about you. Is it okay if I ask you some questions?" Remy nodded. "Do you know the Pied Piper of Hamelin?" Remy gave a puzzled look, and then shook his head. "No? How about Mrs. Frisby, or Nicodemus?" Remy shook his head again. "How about Templeton? Rattigan? The Nutcracker Prince?"

Remy shook his head some more.

"He wouldn't have been with any of those rats, anyway," Alfredo said, "except, perhaps, the rats of NIMH."

"Now that you mention it, most of those rats weren't very nice, and Little Chef is a good rat. That _was_ thoughtless of me, Alfredo. Let me see..."

Then Alfredo had an idea. "Hey! What about Doctor Dolittle?"

"Oh, yes. There was a chapter about rats in _The Story of Doctor Dolittle_."

"No, I mean why don't _you_, Mortimer, summon Doctor Dolittle to communicate with Little Chef?"

"That's a great idea, Alfredo," Colette said.

Mo wanted to help the Linguinis and Remy, but he never thought that he had to read a book to find out whether the rat was from a book. "I don't know..."

"After we opened Le Ratatouille," Alfredo said, "I started collecting animal stories in French, English, and Italian. One of them is _The Story of Doctor Dolittle_ in English. I'll go get it."

Alfredo left the great room and entered the bedroom. He returned with _The Story of Doctor Dolittle_.

"Now we can see your power in action," Alfredo said, and handed the book to Mo.

"I must warn you," Mo said, "sometimes when I read something out, something else goes in. Did you lose anything the moment I arrived?"

"Only the figurines you broke," Colette said.

"I'm sorry, Colette," Mo said. "I'll pay for them. Maybe that certain 'side effect' is less common within the same world. All right, I'll read. But then I'll need someone with good writing skills and who knows the book well enough so he can return. Alfredo?" Alfredo nodded in submission. "These paragraphs are short, and this is the best one I can find." Mo started reading out loud. "_After a while, with the parrot's help, the Doctor got to learn the language of the animals so well that he could talk to them himself and understand everything they said. Then he gave up being a people's doctor altogether._"

And right at that moment, Doctor John Dolittle and his parrot Polynesia, who was perched on his shoulder, appeared standing near the apartment's big window.

The doctor was bewildered by his new surroundings. "Hullo? This isn't my house!"

"Look at that beautiful view!" the parrot said. "Interesting-looking tower."

"Doctor Dolittle?" Alfredo asked.

"Yes?"

"I understand that you have learned how to talk to animals."

"I say, news certainly travels fast. And he's a human!" Polynesia said.

"I need you to find out what's wrong with my rat, and to learn about his past before he met me. My name is Alfredo Linguini, and his name is Little Chef."

"It would be my pleasure," Doctor Dolittle said.

And so, Doctor Dolittle talked to Remy in rat language, and understood everything that Remy said, despite the fact that they were presumably from two different worlds.

"First," the doctor said, "I'll tell you about his past. His real name is Remy, and he and his family originally lived in Charenton-le-Pont, in an old farmhouse. As all the rats were constantly stealing garbage to eat, Remy, on the other hand, was dreaming up recipes using fresh or vintage food. One recipe in particular he was working on got him into trouble. The elderly woman who lived in the farmhouse caught him and his brother Emile in the kitchen, and later found the rest of the rat clan. Because she found them, his father Django, head of the clan, commanded all of them to evacuate, so all the rats made boats to escape on the river. But before Remy escaped, he stole a cookbook and used it as a boat. Then he got separated from his family in a drainpipe, decided to explore the sewers, and ended up in Paris."

The Linguinis and Mo thought that Remy's past was very interesting, but they concluded that Remy wasn't from a book after all. And then Alfredo remembered something that Doctor Dolittle said about Remy that he found even more disappointing. "You stole a cookbook, Little—" Alfredo stopped himself. "I mean, Remy?"

[End of chapter 8.]

A/N: An explanation about the chapter title, the two Little Tongues are the Linguinis, as "linguini" means "little tongues" in Italian, and rat-tongue is simply rat language. _The Pied Piper of Hamelin_ is a traditional story. _Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH_ is by Robert C. O'Brien. _Charlotte's Web_ is by E.B. White. _Basil of Baker Street_ is by Eve Titus. _The Nutcracker_ is by E.T.A. Hoffman. _Doctor Dolittle_ is by Hugh Lofting.

I honestly don't know whether Remy is from Charenton-le-Pont, that's just my best educated guess.

I bet you're wondering what Meggie is doing right now. Well, you'll find out in the next chapter.


	9. Finding Mo

Chapter 9: Finding Mo

After Doctor John Dolittle translated what Remy told him about his past, he said to Alfredo, "As for what's wrong with Remy, he says you were right. He was upset about the fire. He knows that the fire was an accident. But there's something else that he is more upset about. He says that he and several other rats have seen an old enemy around Le Ratatouille. A man named Skinner?"

"Skinner!" Alfredo exclaimed. "My former employer! He wanted to use my father's name to start a frozen foods enterprise."

"Why would anybody eat food that is cold?" Doctor Dolittle asked.

Colette explained. "The food is frozen to preserve it, and when you're ready to eat it, you cook it."

"Fascinating," the doctor said. "Apparently Remy is scared that Skinner is after him and will kill him unless he works for him. That's what Skinner told him the last time he trapped him."

"Oh, Remy," Alfredo said, "you shouldn't let Skinner get in your way. If we ever find him doing anything suspicious, we'll put a stop to it somehow. We can also try to figure out different ways for you to communicate with me and Colette. What do you think?"

Remy ate some more cheese and some strawberries, and then talked to Doctor Dolittle again.

"He's asking you what you would like to have for dinner."

"It's your choice, Remy," Alfredo said.

So Remy, with Colette's help, prepared dinner for everyone. They made French onion soup, beet and arugula salad, and fruit crepes. Naturally, the Linguinis invited John Dolittle and Mortimer Folchart to join them.

"I wish Meggie was here," Mo said, looking at his dinner plate.

Alfredo and Colette stared at Mo.

"Does she know..." Colette began to say.

"She knows. In fact, she's one also."

Alfredo wanted to help Mo, but he didn't know how. "I was wondering how you can get back home. You—"

At that moment, the Linguinis' phone rang. Doctor Dolittle and Polynesia the Parrot were startled. "Squawk! What was that?" Polynesia said, flapping her wings.

Alfredo answered the phone in the kitchen. "_Allo?_" he asked in French.

Now, Meggie Folchart was the person who called Alfredo. She was using a pay phone in a café in the Parisian neighborhood of Invalides. She is not alone, however. Tinker Bell is hidden in a carpet bag. Whose carpet bag? Mary Poppins', of course! Mary is wearing Meggie's mother Resa's clothes.

"_Allo, Monsieur Linguini?_" Meggie said."_Je désire parler à Monsieur Mortimer Folchart. C'est Meggie._"

Alfredo couldn't believe his ears. But then he reminded himself that many unbelievable things have occurred within the hour. "_Un instant, s'il vous plait,_" he said to Meggie, and the he said to Mo, "Mo, it's your daughter! She figured out that you ended up with us." Then Alfredo talked to Meggie again. "_Le voici._"

Mo took the phone from Alfredo.

"Clever Meggie," Mo said to himself, and then he said to Meggie, "Hi, Meggie. It's Mo. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mo." Meggie answered. "The question is, are you okay?"

"I had a hard landing, but I'm fine. What's that noise?"

"Oh, those are customers talking. I'm in Paris, too, Mo."

"How did you end up in Paris? Resa's in Italy, and you're only fourteen. Did you read yourself here?"

"Not exactly. I summoned Tinker Bell and used her pixie dust."

"You better have a human adult as a chaperone."

"Sort of. I came with Mary Poppins. She's wearing Resa's clothes. At first, she refused to wear them, but when I told her that it was to rescue you and that I summoned her myself, she was humbled and agreed to do it. Oh, and I've brought your wallet and passport."

"Just tell me where you are, and I'll bring you to the Linguinis' apartment. I have an idea of how to get home, and I get the impression that you had the same idea."

So Mo called a taxi, found Meggie and Mary at the café, and paid the cab-driver with the money Alfredo lent him. When they arrived at the apartment, Meggie was shocked that Mo had summoned Doctor Dolittle and Polynesia. Then Alfredo and Colette told Meggie about Remy. John Dolittle was enchanted to meet Mary, who could also talk to animals. Polynesia was impressed with Mary's umbrella because it had a parrot's head for a handle. Mo and Meggie were sure that the reason Mo transported to where the Linguinis were was because in the letter, Alfredo said that he and Colette longed to meet a storyteller who could give them a tour of the Fairy-Tale road, and Mo is definitely one of Germany's greatest storytellers. Mo asked Alfredo to write another letter to Tim Steinblock, except this one wasn't for mailing. This was for sending Mo and Meggie home. Alfredo wrote the letter, Mo paid the Linguinis for the figurines and the taxi, and successfully read John, Polynesia, Mary, Tink, Meggie, and himself home.

[End of chapter 9.]

A/N: I _strongly_ discourage anyone from crossing foreign borders illegally. Remember, this is a fantasy, and Mo was transported to Paris magically. Also, a rat-infested restaurant is against health codes, so that confirms this is a fantasy. Oh, yeah. And _The Story of Doctor Dolittle_ is by Hugh Lofting, _Peter Pan_ is by J.M. Barrie, and _Mary Poppins_ is by P.L. Travers.

That concludes the first half of the story, the second half will be more like Marjorie Priceman's _How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World_. The Folcharts' traveling to France is a red herring, even though France is one of the locations in "Apple Pie." But the "Apple Pastries" voyage has a twist. You'll learn what the twist is in the next chapter.


	10. A Recipe for Trouble

Chapter 10: A Recipe for Trouble

Four days after Mo and Meggie returned to Bremen, they went to the market to buy ingredients to make treats for Resa when she arrives. They still couldn't find their travelogs, so they used recipes they found in both old and new food magazines. When they came home, they made lemon-flavored scones, chocolate petit fours, and tiramisu. Meggie decided to wait until tomorrow to make the sandwiches. As Meggie was going over the tea party checklist in the living room, the doorbell rang.

"Now I wonder who that could be?" Meggie asked, and then she rose from her chair, walked to and looked through the window, and opened the door. It was the Steinblocks. "Oh, hello, Mr. and Mrs. Steinblock."

"Hello," Tim and Sylvia replied.

"Hi, Hilda. Hi, Wilbart."

"Hi, Meggie."

"Please! Come in!" The Steinblocks entered the front door. "Have a seat."

"Thank you," Sylvia said, and the Steinblock family went into the living room and sat down.

"Will you excuse me as I get Mo?" Meggie asked.

"That will be fine, Tim said. "We'll wait."

Meggie went to get Mo, who was in his study, using his notebook computer, reviewing his bank account.

"Mo! The Steinblocks are here!"

Then Mo got up, and followed Meggie to the living room.

"Tim! Sylvia! How nice of you to drop by."

"We have something that Meggie wanted," Tim said, and then he gave Meggie a few index cards.

"Gusteau's apple pastry recipe?" she asked.

"Remember? You asked if you could have it so you could make some for your mother."

"Yes, I remember."

"Forgive me for not giving it to you earlier. When is she coming?"

"Resa will be here in three days," Mo said. "We just finished making the baked goods. We were going to make the sandwiches next, until you brought up the apple pastries."

"Where is your mom, anyway, Meggie?" Hilda asked.

"She's in Naples, with her aunt Elinor. Resa, Mo, and I have been living at Elinor's for the past two years, and Mo and I have been fixing up this house to live in for the summer. Mo, is it all right if I give Hilda and Wilbart a tour?"

"That's fine with me. Just be careful. There's still a lot of work that needs to be done."

Later, when Meggie was showing Hilda and Wilbart the private library...

"Wow! These books are old!" Wilbart exclaimed.

"Yeah!" Hilda agreed "They all have leather covers."

Then Meggie was reminded of something else. "Speaking of books, I'm done with _Peter Pan_, so you can have it back now."

"Thanks, Meggie," Hilda said. "Oh, and about the apple pastries..."

"It's okay, Hilda. Mo and I can just go to the market to buy more ingredients for the apple pastries."

"What I was wondering was if you can make the apple pastries without going to the market."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, you can read characters out of books. Can you do it with other things, too?"

"Wait a minute. If you're thinking what I think you're thinking, it's out of the question."

"You mean you cant do it?" Wilbart asked.

"Oh, I can do it all right. It's just that I won't do it, that's all."

"Well, can't you just read the ingredients off the index card?" Hilda suggested.

"It's not that easy. It only works with pieces of literature, and, apparently, letters. I'm not a genie, I'm not a witch, I'm only a Silvertongue."

Then Hilda had another suggestion. "What if you read ingredients out of books as a way to practice when you need to handle another emergency?"

"Yeah!" Wilbart said. "You could even fight crime."

Fighting crime with Silvertongue powers? Meggie has used her reading skills to conquer many foes from the Inkworld, but she never thought that she would ever have to use her reading skills for anything besides _Inkheart_. But it was only four days ago when she and Mo had last done so. Are there actually some benefits to having this ability? Meggie had to think about this.

[End of chapter 10.]


	11. Reading Aloud Is Fundamental

Chapter 11: Reading Aloud Is Fundamental

Later that evening, after the Steinblocks left, Meggie shared some important information with Mo.

"Mo, I have to tell you something. Hilda and Wilbart know that you and I are Silvertongues."

"I understand, Meggie. You were in a spot, and it would have been rude if you just snuck out. So you read Tinker Bell out of _Peter Pan_ at the Steinblocks' house, the kids caught you, and you agreed on telling the parents that I had a 'space heater emergency.'"

"I should have known Tim and Sylvia would have asked you about that. Anyway, today Hilda and Wilbart were asking me about our skill and were wondering since we can read characters and objects out of books, why couldn't we use that skill to help someone regularly?"

"Because I've had just about enough reading aloud to last a lifetime, thanks to Fenoglio's _Inkheart_."

"But you summoned Doctor Dolittle for the Linguinis, right? And you didn't read anything into the book. So why can't we do something like that more often? There are plenty of books that aren't nearly as dark or nearly as complex or nearly as rare as _Inkheart_. _Inkheart_ was what made our gift a curse, and we can change that."

Mo pondered this for a while, and then he said, "You know, Meggie, I have to agree with you. As long as we can figure out which scenarios would be most appropriate, because we don't want any publicity, and we don't want to do it for selfish purposes."

"Hilda suggested that for practice I read ingredients for the apple pastries out of books."

"That's an interesting idea. Maybe you could try reading one ingredient out of each book. But wait. Maybe it would be better if you read yourself into the books."

"Uh, Mo, are you feeling okay? You just suggested that I read myself into books."

Mo laughed. "I'm fine Meggie. I said I thought it would be better to read yourself into books so that no characters would be accused of stealing. Instead you could ask the characters for jobs and tell them that you are willing to be paid in whichever ingredients they have."

"If I am going to read myself into books, then I should probably study Orpheus' alternate words."

"How did you get a hold of Orpheus' words?" Mo asked.

"Elinor rescued them from her wastebasket after Orpheus was read into _Inkheart_. Orpheus was definitely using his power for selfish purposes."

"You can study his words tomorrow, but now it's time for bed."

"Yes, Mo. Good night." And then Meggie kissed Mo.

"Good night, Meggie." Then Meggie went to her room.

The next day, Mo telephoned Resa, and told her that he and Meggie decided to practice reading aloud on a regular basis.

"How do you feel about our decision, Resa?" Mo asked on the phone.

"Well, Mo, I'm worried." Resa said, talking on the phone in Elinor's kitchen What if it gets to be _Inkheart_ all over?"

"That's exactly the attitude I've had for eleven years," Mo replied. "But thanks to Meggie, I've had a change of heart. _Inkheart_ is history. We can start all over by reading safer books."

At that moment, Elinor entered her kitchen, and asked Resa, "Did I just here you say something about _Inkheart_?'

"Will you excuse me, Mo? Elinor is present." Then Resa talked to Elinor. "Mo and Meggie are going to read aloud again."

"Well it's about time!" Elinor said.

"You mean you're all right with that?"

"Of course! Darius is jealous that Mortimer is so much better at reading aloud than he is. Yet Darius has been improving in his speaking skills."

Then Resa went back to talking on the phone. "As long as you're willing to do it, and as long as Elinor approves, I guess it's okay."

"Would it be okay for Meggie to read herself into books while you're still in Naples?" Mo asked.

"Reading out characters and reading them back in is one thing, but I'm not too sure about her experimenting with reading herself into books. She's only done it once."

"What if I were to supervise her and read her back from this world in case she's in there for too long?"

"That might work. Two Silvertongues are better than one. Especially since they're on the same side."

"So, is it okay for her to try it then?"

"Go ahead and try. Keep me informed about your adventures. I'll be there in two days. I hope you're successful."

"So do I, Resa. So do I."

[End of chapter 11.]


	12. Who Will Help Me Get Some Flour?

Chapter 12: Who Will Help Me Get Some Flour?

Later that day, when Meggie visited Hilda and Wilbart, she told them that she was going to collect ingredients for the apple pastries after all. Meggie told them about Mo's idea to read herself into books and then work for the ingredients.

"You can read yourself into books, too?" Wilbart asked Meggie.

"Of course she can," said Hilda. "Mr. Folchart read the letter Mr. Linguini wrote Dad, and that made him appear in Paris."

"The thing is," Meggie started, "that was the only time he has ever read himself anywhere, and I've only done it once into a book myself."

"Which book did you read yourself into?" Wilbart asked.

"I'd rather not tell you. It was such a grim experience for me and a few other people. But perhaps, when I think you're ready, I'll tell you."

"I understand, Meggie." Hilda said. "I have secrets which I refuse to share with even my closest friends."

"Like what?" Wilbart asked his sister.

"Nothing."

Meggie changed the subject. "Will you please do me a favor and see if you can find books about baking or farms or castaways? Most of my books are still in Naples."

"Okay." Hilda said. "I'll need to look at the recipe to figure out which books are most likely to have which ingredients. Did you bring the recipe, Meggie?" (Meggie takes the recipe out of her leather bag and gives it to Hilda.) "Please help me look, Meggie. You're an expert on literature."

"Thank you, Hilda."

Wilbart was eager to help also. "Would you like some of my books, too, Meggie?"

"Yes, Wilbart. By the way, we haven't figured out how to read things into short poems yet, so it would be better if you bring me your chapter books. The more words from one author, the better."

After sorting through all the books, they put the ones they thought to be most useful in Wilbart's toy wagon. Hilda packed several costumes in a plastic bin and put the bin in her wagon. When they were finished, Hilda asked her mother if they could spend the day at Meggie's house to share books and act out scenes in those books. Sylvia said yes, and then said that she had to be at the theater to check costumes, so they could stay there as long as she and Tim were at work. When Meggie, Hilda, and Wilbart settled in the Folcharts' living room...

"So did you find all the books you need?" Mo asked the kids.

"Oh, we've got more than enough books," Meggie said, and then she pointed at the piles of books that were set on the coffee table. "I could collect all the ingredients from _The Boxcar Children_ series, since Jessie and Violet Alden like to cook, but I think I'll only use them as a last resort."

"Which book will you use first, then?" Mo asked.

"If it's all right with you, Mo, I'd like to try reading out the Little Red Hen and her flour."

Mo was having some doubts. "But that's a really short story. Do you think you have the right words to return her and the flour she needs?"

"I think so."

"Well then, go ahead and read."

"Okay, here I go."

"Good luck, Meggie," Hilda and Wilbart said in unison.

Meggie opened a book of European folktales and read the part of the story _The Little Red Hen and the Grain of Wheat_ when the Little Red Hen brought the wheat to the mill to make it into flour. The reading resulted exactly as Meggie hoped it would.

"Where am I?" the Little Red Hen asked. "How did I get here?"

"I brought you here by reading a story about you," Meggie told her.

"Why would anybody want to read a story about me?"

"Because you're a legend, admired for your diligence all over the world."

"A legend, eh?"

"I was wondering if I could make you an offer."

"What did you have in mind?"

"If I promise that I can make your friends, the Pig, the Duck, and the Cat, desire to work harder around the house, will you give me enough flour to make a dessert for my mother?"

"What's your name?"

"Meggie."

"Meggie, I'm willing to pay the price. Make sure you leave enough for me to bake several loaves of bread."

So Meggie scooped several cups of flour and put them in a plastic bag. Then she read where she left off, only she changed the story having the Pig, the Duck, and the Cat be concerned for the Little Red Hen's busyness and start helping by doing different jobs around the house. She even made them look after the Little Red Hen's chicks while she was baking the bread. After the Little Red Hen was read back into her story, and after she baked her bread, she saw that the Pig, the Duck, and the Cat have been very helpful while she was busy. Because they have quickly gotten out of their lazy habits, she awarded them each with a slice of bread. Meanwhile, back in the real world...

"She's gone!" Hilda said. "And the flour's gone, too! Is the flour you need still here, Meggie?"

Meggie held up a plastic bag, and saw that it was still full of flour. "I wasn't sure whether I could do it, but I did!"

[End of chapter 12.]

A/N: This chapter parallels the part in _How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World_, where the cook travels to Italy to gather seminola wheat to make flour. _The Little Red Hen and the Grain of Wheat_ is an English folktale. The apple pastry quest will continue in the next chapter, and this time Meggie will read herself into a book.


End file.
